Sweden halts funding to UN agency

Sweden has said it has temporarily halted funding for the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees following Israel’s allegations that its staff participated in the Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Swedish Television (SVT) reported on Tuesday that the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) has paused its payments to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The Swedish government pledged to fund UNRWA with 400 million Swedish kronor ($38.4 million) this year, but 31 million kronor is currently withheld, SVT reported. It said the withheld funding will instead go to organisations such as the World Food Programme and the International Committee of the Red Cross, Xinhua news agency reported.